Zoning
Background Zoning laws by themselves are useful tools when planning for future growth and protecting residential areas from encroachment by commercial and industrial development. However, in Pittsburgh's present situations, think again about the purpose of zoning in times of decline. Zoning for an area works wonders as that area is booming. Nobody wants a boom to explode in one's face. * Did you hear about a modern-day Noah? Zoning wellness :Don't hold a fire-cracker in your hand while it explodes. You'll loose fingers. Don't have fire-cracker next to your ear as you'll damage if not loose your hearing. Did you hear of the guy messing with fireworks on New Years and had them explode at his feet, starting a fire, and he lost a limb. When there is a boom, you need to take precautions and have protection. :But when there isn't a booom, you don't want the protections. You don't put on a welder's face mask and shield just because Aunt Mable has to blow out the 70 candles on her birthday cake. :Is zoning a hinderance to growth? There are times and spaces when there is a great hunger for growth. We are starved for growth. It is prudent to lessen the demands for a nine-course meal when a hamburger would taste fine and satisfy. The areas that are booming need to put a lid and guidance to the boom so it doesn't explode wildly. But, when there isn't any boom then what? Red tape with zoning chokes. Zoning, as applied in Pittsburgh, has some problems. Zoning takes rights away from property owners. Zoning laws, as I've seen them applied in Pittsburgh, have a few different problems. * Zoning regulations are not enforced in a standardized method. The lack of justice in the system is painfully obvious to those who need to deal with these matters on intimate ways. * Zoning is often about the land and power anyway. So, if a company wants a park, wants a city block, wants a parking garage -- whatever -- and puts its muscle into the game, it gets done. * Zoning laws cut rights for property owners. * Zoning fights spill out of the zoning and planning meetings. The backlashes of these fights linger and pollute other venues from city council to ill will in neighborhoods. The power of the zoning panel is subject to approval from City Council. So, as people are really set in something, they fight and bring it up stream. It isn't over until they say it is over. * We spend too much time on this topic throughout local governement. Re-mapping is a weenie, technical elitist contract driven activity. Good place for no-bid contracts and funny money. Overlay districts are another story with different outcomes from zoning. These overlay districts add layer upon layer of governmental regulations to residential neighborhoods as well as commercial and industrial development. Eminent domain is the greatest threat to private property rights. Some courts have ruled it permissable for government to take private property from the individual and give it to another indivdual with the promise of greater tax revenues for the government through property enhancement. This is criminal. Eminent domain should be restricted to its intent in Article I of the Constitution. Planning and zoning board People should voice opinions and make views known. Educate yourself on the issues and attend the meetings. Zoning and planning meetings need to be better promoted, documented, open and accessible. Members of the zonning board should need to retain their seats with retention votes. {(art-plank}} Zoning board members, like those appointed to the various authorities, get to say on the board after with retention votes. Qs Does the community as a whole have an interest, or is the property owner's interest pre-eminent? If the latter, is that true in all cases? For example: If I buy a house in a residential neighborhood, and want to use it as a chicken farm, should I be able to? In the absence of zoning laws, won't you have the same issues when, for example, somebody puts a chicken farm next door to you? Where is the limit between the interest of the community and the interest of the individual property owner? I'm born under the sign of the ROOSTER in the Chineese zodic -- so I'll side step the chicken farm question for now. Redstate posting Zoning laws by themselves are useful tools when planning for future growth and protecting residential areas from encroachment by commercial and industrial development. However, in Pittsburgh's present situations, think again about the purpose because we are in a period of decline. Zoning for an area works wonders as that area is booming. Nobody wants a boom to explode in one's face. Don't hold a fire-cracker in your hand while it explodes. You'll loose fingers. Too close. Too powerful. Don't have a fire-cracker next to your ear as it explodes as you'll damage or perhaps loose your hearing. My wife is an audiologist. One guy was messing with fireworks on New Years to bring in 2005 and had an explosion at his feet, starting a fire, and he lost a limb. When there is a boom, you need to take precautions and have protection. But when there isn't a booom, you don't want the protections. You don't put on a welder's face mask and shield just because Aunt Mable has to blow out the 70 candles on her birthday cake. Is zoning a hinderance to growth? There are times and spaces when there is a great hunger for growth. We are starved for growth. It is prudent to lessen the demands for a nine-course meal when a hamburger would taste fine and satisfy. Booming areas might need to put a lid and guidance to the boom so it doesn't explode wildly. But, when there isn't any boom then what? Las Vegas perhaps? As a solution, (let me run this up the redsate flag pole) hold a summit and get trustees to self select. Have educational sessions. Then tag each chunk of the zoning and planning code. Then tag each section of the city. Then call for a 15 year (??) moratorium on the zoning code except for these SECTIONS of the code that get supermajority voter support within these SECTIONS of the city. So, first five years, all the city is able to operate without any zoning code. Next five years, certain rules are applied to certain sections of the city. Then from years 10-15, more sections of the code are applied to more sections of the city. On year 12, we have a charter vote to approve new language for the zoning code. On year 13 we vote to see if the new language goes into effect on year 15 or else we allow the zoning code suspension to continue for another 2 years. There needs to be a built in approval process so that the citizen vote -- more like a jury with self-appointed citizen participation -- validates the process of the MORATORIUM. We'd have to air it out. Put the cheats on notice. Talk about the corruption. Point out the good and bad to building code enforcement and everything. Plus, there needs to be a built in process to SUNSET the moratorium. Nuisance Abatement Before zoning, there were suits for nuisance abatement. Courts varied in their definitions of what could be abated, but modern courts would be much more willing to abate any nuisance that caused neighbors to be harmed. The building and operation of a chicken farm in the middle of a residential area would certainly be considered a nuisance in today's suburbs or cities. Most zoning is done poorly and inflexibly. Zoning has absurd and corrupt instances. Zoning is a seriously abused concept of allowing nonconforming uses at the whim of the zoning board. Putting the breaks on zoning sets up a different hassle. Many landowners would rather deal with the bureaucracy of zoning than the possibility that a neighbor of their would consider their use to be a nuisance. Housing court to the rescue. Links * Pa. Supreme Court gets casino zoning case about gambling from December, 2006 and Adams County Blogs * http://republicpittsburgh.blogspot.com/2006/11/without-vote.html#links from November, 2006 about how zoning enforces laws that have not gone to a vote on city council.